Fighter

Chapter 3

The hallways of Maleficis School always proved a worthy home for Alexandra Clemmons when she wanted to read a book. Although there were constantly students running around, no one would ever dare to disturb a loner with a novel. And that’s what she loved about Maleficis: everyone worried more about their social standing than anything else. No Infan would ever be seen with a Natu. Those who were going into political studies would never spend their time with someone becoming a lowly teacher. And no one of any study dared to speak with those who had decided to join the Force. For those were the most brutal of all the students. It was the variations in chosen career paths that ruined friendships more than anything else.

            Today’s book of choice: Macbeth. Not only did Alexandra enjoy the story, but also the controversy that Shakespeare had caused by putting mortals and witches together. That decision had made it one of the most popular plays of all time. Alexandra didn’t mind the mixture, though. She loved it, in fact. If she could, she would just read about Macbeth and Banquo’s encounters with the supernatural beings over and over and over again. Hecate was her hero. The witches’ brew had been tested many times with replacements for the human parts, of course – a tail of a rat instead of a finger of a baby. Obviously, the end results were failed, Shakespeare being a mortal and not knowing one thing about potion brewing, but the fun was in trying.

            Alexandra’s lips curled into a small smile as she read act four, scene one for about the thousandth time, mouthing every line. The bustle of students going to their next class didn’t distract her one bit. The passing period was long enough for her to at least get to the apparitions.  

            Occasionally, the sound of laughter would cause her to look up. There, right in front of her, would be a group of friends gossiping about their newest crush or complaining about all the homework they had. This never seemed to be a problem for Alexandra, as all of her friends weren’t at this school. In fact, none of her friends even knew she attended Maleficis. The only person she talked to aside from herself was her roommate, Christine Quinn.

            Upon arrival at Maleficis two months ago, Alexandra had thought that Christine would be the perfect roommate for her: an avid reader, serious about her studies, and very, very accepting. Now, that didn’t seem like the case. Christine had chosen a career path in politics whereas Alexandra had not decided one at all. The two rarely ever saw each other because of their schedules and when they did, it was to say, “Can I borrow your hairbrush?” Not that Christine every really needed a hairbrush with her hair always in a slick ponytail. The thick-framed, rectangle glasses only helped complete the studious look.

            Alexandra sighed, finding the hallways particularly obnoxious today. She had only managed to read about ten lines with line eleven being reread over and over again.

            “Concentrate…” She muttered to herself. No such luck. She sighed again.

            Why couldn’t everyone just spend his or her fifteen free minutes reading a book or relaxing in the rare sunlight? Gossip was pointless. Homework was inevitable. Get on with the day and accept what came along. Wow, maybe reading Macbeth so many times was finally giving her something other than useless potions and false hopes.

            Ten minutes had gone by and line elven would be etched in Alexandra’s memory forever: Fire burn and cauldron bubble, fire burn and cauldron bubble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. There was no way she would turn the replay off until she read more of the play.

            Alexandra only had three classes a day because of her indecisiveness: Magical Studies, Psychic 101, and Basic Magical Practices. And all of those classes were with the same seventeen undecided Infans in the school. How could fourteen year olds be expected to decide what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives? It was absurd. Maybe by the time she was a Natu she’d figure everything out. But for now, Basics was her assigned class, whether she like it or not.